Do You Need to Invest in Small Grommets? Here are a Few Facts You Need to Know

There are a lot of industries that make use of cable tie guns, plastic cable glands, and pvc plugs. One of the most interesting places where zip ties are used is in law enforcement. Here are a few interesting facts you should know about
cable tie guns, zip ties, and rubber grommets.

A cable grommet is a tube or ring through which an electric cable passes. The cable grommet is usually inserted in holes in certain materials in order to protect, improve friction or seal cables passing through it, from a possible mechanical or chemical attack. The small metal grommet which is used in shoes for laces is called an eyelet. This should of course not be confused with the aglet.

A rubber grommet is made of a resilient material, which is usually rubber, with the molding designed to hold it in place. This is necessary to help to absorb vibrations, for example, between a microphone and its tripod, keeping the two components floating mechanically but decoupled one from another to prevent a characteristic coupling called microphonism.

Cable ties were first invented by Thomas and Betts, which was an electrical company, in 1958. At the time, they were released under the brand name Ty-Rap. Initially they were designed for airplane wire harnesses. The original design used a metal tooth. Though these are less common these days, they can still be obtained. Thomas and Betts and others, moved to the nylon or plastic design that is more common these days. The most common of zip ties are made out of sturdy nylon material, with an intergrated gear rack.

In its common form, the nylon cable tie consists of a tape section with triangular teeth that slope in one direction. The head of the cable tie has a slot with a flexible pawl that irreversibly rides up the slope of these teeth when the tape is inserted. Initially, zip ties were developed to harness the wires used in early airplane designs into place. The pawl engages the backside of these teeth to stop removal of the tape. Zip ties were first developed to organize the wiring used in aircraft to avoid confusion and difficulty when completeing maintenance and repairs.